EIM hits record benefits, lower GHG emissions

The Western Energy Imbalance Market (EIM), California ISO’s real-time electricity market, reported benefits totaling more than $71 million during the second quarter of 2018, the largest single-quarter savings since the market opened in 2014.

The previous quarterly high of $42 million was set in first three months of 2018. Since launch in November 2014, total gross benefits from the energy market have totaled $401.73 million.

The EIM optimizes resources to find the lowest cost resources to serve demand across the western United States. The ISO’s sophisticated, automated software allows use of existing resources and transmission lines to create benefits. The EIM also provides more opportunity to meet demand by using excess renewable energy. Carbon emissions decreased by 306,112 metric tons – the equivalent of taking nearly 65,000 cars off the road for a year – since the market launched..